When You Can't Talk To Anyone Else...

I found out yesterday that someone very near and dear to me has cancer. The words they spoke to me were "the full extent is not known yet, but it is bad". They then asked me not to tell anyone, because they don't want to deal with a ton of people calling asking how they are coping .So now I am stuck with this thing on my mind; I am unable to talk to anyone heredue to wanting to respect the wishes of the person involved. It's my Mom. I knew it was going to be bad news when I was told yesterday she wanted me to call her; my family doesn't just chat on the phone for the sake of talking; anytime someone calls, it is always bad news. She has only told 4 of the 7 of us (my brothers and sisters) so far. I'm just really freaked out; I don't know how I am gonna handle this. Granted, my Mom and I have had some bad feelings between us over the years; for a 5 year period we wouldn't even speak, and I was pointedly NOT invited to Thanksgiving and Christmas at her house.For the last few years though, Mom and I have been slowly patching things up, and now this... I'm devastated. So I'm not sure what my real point here is. I guess I am just wondering how do you cope when you find out someone you love might not be there much longer.